Why is Cheserek’s citizenship taking so long?

Uscis process wrote:

To apply for citizenship by naturalization you need to have been a permanent resident for 5 years or 3 years if you are a permanent resident through marriage to a US citizen. Permanent residents are those with green cards, not student visas or any other form of visa. If Cheserek wasn’t a permanent resident during his time at Oregon but instead on a student visa then he would have only become a permanent resident in either 2017 or 2018. Once eligible for naturalization the current processing time is roughly 12-16 months.

Therefore the delay is most likely not because of his citizenship application, but waiting to be eligible to apply for citizenship because we don’t know when or if he ever became a permanent resident or if he has been here on student visas, P1-A Athletes visas etc. The only delay I can imagine if he has already begun the citizenship application would be by not being able to provide evidence of his prior status that makes him eligible for citizenship or his birth certificate etc. As part of the naturalization process you also have to pass an interview that tests your knowledge of American history and ability to read and write in English. It is also possible that failing the history test could result in a delay of your application being approved.

I think we’re all agreed wrote:

Bubbadeeboos wrote:

Contrary to what most illegal immigrant haters think, it is a very difficult and drawn out process to get legal status. There are country quotas and wait lists... For citizenship , you have to be sponsored by a company/direct relative (or a few other options) for several years without a glitch in your paperwork. Then you’ll be eligible to apply for citizenship, which is another multi year process. Then, as long as you haven’t messed up your paperwork or sponsorship during this period, you’ll get to take the citizenship coursework and swear-in.

Even immigrants that serve in our military have difficulty and have their applications denied.

I don’t think proponents of legal immigration (the ones you label as illegal immigrant haters) claim that gaining legal immigration status is easy. There is high demand and limited supply. Not everyone will be approved. We want engineers and doctors and rocket scientists and supermodels. Not athletes.

I think we’re all agreed wrote:

Bubbadeeboos wrote:

Contrary to what most illegal immigrant haters think, it is a very difficult and drawn out process to get legal status. There are country quotas and wait lists... For citizenship , you have to be sponsored by a company/direct relative (or a few other options) for several years without a glitch in your paperwork. Then you’ll be eligible to apply for citizenship, which is another multi year process. Then, as long as you haven’t messed up your paperwork or sponsorship during this period, you’ll get to take the citizenship coursework and swear-in.

Even immigrants that serve in our military have difficulty and have their applications denied.

I don’t think proponents of legal immigration (the ones you label as illegal immigrant haters) claim that gaining legal immigration status is easy. There is high demand and limited supply. Not everyone will be approved. We want engineers and doctors and rocket scientists and supermodels. Not athletes.

deja view wrote:

Interesting to read for those of us old enough to remember the Bernard Lagat citizenship controversy. Lagat also had been waiting for years for the US to decide on his citizenship application. In 2004 he was reasonably sure that he was not going to be granted citizenship in time for the US track trials. So in early 2004 when he still was a Kenyan citizen he committed to run for Kenya at the Olympics. Then, in May 2004,without any sort of prior notice from US INS, his citizenship application was approved only 8 weeks before US track trials. At that point he didn't know if he would be considered qualified and allowed to run US trials, and he was already named to the Kenyan Olympic team, so he said nothing publicly about his citizenship status and ran the 1500 for Kenya. Most of the hardcore track fans who got upset about this had no appreciation for the reality that the US Immigration Service doesn't give a hoot about elite middle distance runners and approval of their citizenship applications in a timely fashion.

deja view wrote:

Interesting to read for those of us old enough to remember the Bernard Lagat citizenship controversy. Lagat also had been waiting for years for the US to decide on his citizenship application. In 2004 he was reasonably sure that he was not going to be granted citizenship in time for the US track trials. So in early 2004 when he still was a Kenyan citizen he committed to run for Kenya at the Olympics. Then, in May 2004,without any sort of prior notice from US INS, his citizenship application was approved only 8 weeks before US track trials. At that point he didn't know if he would be considered qualified and allowed to run US trials, and he was already named to the Kenyan Olympic team, so he said nothing publicly about his citizenship status and ran the 1500 for Kenya. Most of the hardcore track fans who got upset about this had no appreciation for the reality that the US Immigration Service doesn't give a hoot about elite middle distance runners and approval of their citizenship applications in a timely fashion.

look it up einstein wrote:

He isn't going to qualify for an einstein visa. He might meet the first criteria, but I don't see him meeting any of the other ones.

EB1 Extraordinary Ability green card application is in the employment-based immigration visa first preference (EB1) category known as EB1A or EB1EA. Among all three categories under EB-1, only EB-1A allows self petition—meaning, an individual can petition an EB-1A case for himself/herself without any U.S. employer to act as the sponsor/petitioner. However, EB-1A also has a very high standard of law. It requires the petitioner to show that the individual has either won some major award (Nobel Prize, for example) or met at least three out of ten regulatory criteria and show that the individual has "risen to the very top of the endeavor with national or international acclaim." After the precedent case, Kazarian v. USCIS (Two-Part Analysis for EB1-A Petition), the adjudicating officers are applying a two-part adjudication approach—after determining whether the individual has met at least three regulatory criteria, the adjudicator must consider all of the submitted evidence in totality to make a determination as to whether the foreign national meets the requisite level of expertise for the category. EB1A green card application has clear advantages for scholars, researchers, post doctoral research fellows, Ph.D. students, and other advanced degree professionals.

Evidence of receipt of lesser nationally or internationally recognized prizes or awards for excellence

Evidence of membership in associations in the field, which demand outstanding achievement of their members

Evidence of published material about you in professional or major trade publications or other major media

Evidence of judging the work of others, either individually or on a panel

Evidence of original scientific, scholarly, artistic, athletic, or business-related contributions of major significance to the field

Evidence of authorship of scholarly articles in professional or major trade publications or other major media

Evidence that work has been displayed at artistic exhibitions or showcases

Evidence of performance of a leading or critical role in distinguished organizations

Evidence of high salary or other significantly high remuneration in relation to others in the field

Evidence of commercial successes in the performing arts

The major advantages of applying for aliens of extraordinary ability include: no labor certification is required for this EB-1 category; no job offer or permanent job position is required for aliens of extraordinary ability; and much faster to obtain a Green Card than the EB-3 or EB-2 immigration categories.